No Celebrations Here!
Remembering the 1979 Islamic Revolution
The 1979 Islamic Revolution In Iran as it was exciting, it was a period of confusion and fear. In the beginning, the only groups worried and fearful were the religious minorities. They were the only groups with an uncertain future. All religious minorities had experienced the Muslims’ prejudice enticed by the Muslim Clergy during the Qajar dynasty as well as the Pahlavi era. The only change the revolution could have brought about the repression of the minorities by Muslims was the same treatment many folds worse than what they had experienced before the revolution. The Baha’i Faith, a monotheist religion believing in progressive revelation and unity of humankind, started in Iran during the reign of Qajar's, 175 years ago. It claims the humankind has matured enough to comprehend and follow spiritual concepts in religion and does not need clergy to interpret the divine laws and writings. It eliminates the place and position of clergy in between the religion and believers and promotes the maturity and wisdom of the humankind instead.
Shapour Daneshmand, in his documentary “A quiet Genocide,” reveals what those first days or months felt like for the Baha’is in Iran. It was certainly a challenge to even guess what the next day will bring. Daneshmand has used the interviews with family members of the Baha’is who were imprisoned for years as well as the ones who were killed for the reason of being a Baha’i. Through many true stories Daneshmand portrays by way of interviews, one can easily feel the hatred and enmity many Muslim neighbors, classmates, and co-workers exhibited in treating their Baha’i compatriots post the Islamic Revolution as they knew there are no stable security forces in place or if they exist they will not defend the Baha’is. Shapour Daneshmand has recently finished a new documentary, “Faith in Chains,” about the ongoing oppression against the Baha’is in Iran which I recommend seeing it. The following video is an introduction to “A Quiet Genocide” interview series, and it will share with you a glance of what the Iranian Baha'i Community went through in the first few months after the Islamic Revolution, 40 years ago.
